Contents:
- Medical Video: What Causes Retinoblastoma and Eye Cancer
- Is eye cancer in children caused by heredity?
- Risk of complications experienced by children with eye cancer derivatives
- What causes eye cancer to be hereditary?
- Can eye cancer caused by offspring be known earlier?
Medical Video: What Causes Retinoblastoma and Eye Cancer
Eye cancer or retinoblastoma is the type of cancer most often experienced by children. According to the World Health Organization, every year there are 7,000 to 8,000 new cases of eye cancer in children in the world. While there are an estimated 3000-4000 children who die every year because of retinoblastoma. Eye cancer in children is said to be genetic (genetic), is that true? Why can eye cancer be lowered?
Is eye cancer in children caused by heredity?
Retinoblastoma is an eye cancer that affects more than 5 years of age, and the most well-known and cautious symptoms of this disease are symptoms of cat's eyes. Eye cancer in children can attack one or both eyes at once, but most cases occur, eye cancer only occurs in one eyeball. Then is retinoblastoma caused by genetic factors?
In fact, retinoblastoma is the only type of cancer that has been scientifically proven to be passed down from parent to child, aka genetic. Of the total cases of eye cancer in children, around 10-15% are caused by genetic factors or congenital genes that are passed down by parents to their children. Children who have eye cancer due to genetic factors, generally have cancer cells that grow in both eyes.
Risk of complications experienced by children with eye cancer derivatives
Children with retinoblastoma heredity are more at risk of experiencing other complications if they have recovered from their cancer:
- Potential to have tumors in other body parts such as skin tumors, bone tumors, muscle tumors, and pineal gland tumors.
- Big chance to have cancer the second time after recovering from retinoblastoma.
- Lowering their genes to the next generation and making their children at greater risk of developing eye cancer later on.
What causes eye cancer to be hereditary?
Retinoblastoma heredity is caused by genetic changes that are known to have the name RB1. The RB1 gene under normal circumstances has a responsibility to regulate cell growth and division. One other main role is to prevent tumor formation, especially retinoblastoma. Usually, the cells in the eye have two copies of the RB1 gene, one is obtained from the father and the other is passed down by the mother.
While if one of the copies of the gene is a congenital gene retinoblastoma, then there is a change in gene function in children who can then change the shape of RB1. This condition is called mutation. About 10-20% of retinablastomas due to genetic mutations, are caused by genes passed down by parents. While the remaining cases, mutations occur due to external and internal factors of the child, not due to the genes of the offspring of the father or mother.
A child who has retinoblastoma heredity due to having a gene inherited from his parents, has a risk of 50% to reduce the gene back to the next generation. The RB1 gene can mutate when the egg and sperm are fertilized or when the fetus grows in the womb.
Can eye cancer caused by offspring be known earlier?
Actually, there is a medical examination that can determine whether retinoblastoma is due to heredity or not. This examination is called the RB1 genetic test. This RB1 genetic test can be done by parents since the baby is still in the womb, even before the pregnancy occurs.
In this examination, the DNA and embryo will be taken for DNA to see if there is a mutating RB1 gene. The results of this test are very important to determine the child's eye cancer in an early state and can be used to anticipate the occurrence of retinoblastoma in the next generation. However, of course the examination fee is quite expensive and quite risky.
In addition, several other things must be considered, namely if parents do this test, then guilt and regret may arise because they know they lowered the gene that caused their grandchildren to experience retinoblastoma. And it is not impossible for children with retinoblastoma to be lowered to have emotional instability, anger, sadness, and fear due to knowing this test.
